In the Wake of the Verdant Wind
by BroomballKraken
Summary: Years after the war, Ignatz was as busy as ever, with a seemingly endless list of art commissions on top of helping his husband Raphael run the inn. Even so, they always did manage to set aside some time to just enjoy each other's company, and reflect on just how wonderful their lives had turned out. Written for FE Rarepair Week 2019 Day 7, Prompt: Verdant


Intsys did me dirty with the paired ending for these two, so I guess I gotta write my own damn it! lmao anyway, this was a fun rarepair week, see y'all next time! Thanks for reading!

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"You think the inn will be okay with us gone?"

"Ah, c'mon Ig! You gotta relax! Maya will take care of things for us. Besides, we'll only be gone for, like, a week or two at most."

Ignatz turned to look up at Raphael's smiling face, golden eyes shining with an overwhelming fondness. They had been married three years to the day, and still the sight never failed to make his heart race. They were off on a trip to visit Ignatz's family that doubled as a mini vacation to celebrate their anniversary as well.

"Man, am I hungry! Can we stop and eat now?" Raphael asked, laughing as his stomach growled loudly when he slapped a hand to it.

"You're always hungry, dear. But, I could use a break." Ignatz said, giggling as Raphael let out an excited whoop, grabbed Ignatz's hand, and entwined their fingers together.

"Yes! This is why I love you, Ignatz!" Raphael gushed, and Ignatz felt his face heat up as they turned away from the road and climbed up a small hill, with a large tree on the peak that would be a perfect place for a picnic.

"I hope that's not the only reason you love me." Ignatz teased, and the absolutely distressed look that crossed Raphael's face made Ignatz snort with amusement.

"No way!" Raphael said, dropping the pack that he carried so that he could wrap his arms around Ignatz and pull him into a bear hug. "I love everything about you! Your passion for art! Your pretty eyes, and really nice hair. I love your cute glasses and your smarts and your hugs and your-"

"Okay, okay! I get it!" Ignatz said, his voice muffled due to his face currently being squashed against his husband's broad chest. "I was just joking, Raph."

"Oh, uh, right." Raphael said, a light blush appearing on his face as he released his hold on Ignatz and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I knew that."

Ignatz laughed as he and Raphael busied themselves with setting up a fire and cooking their simple meal of pheasant meat and eggs, and Raphael showered Ignatz with compliments on his improving hunting skills as they ate.

"You've really gotten good with a bow lately, Ignatz! I'm glad, 'cause it means that I still get to eat fresh meat even when we're on the road!" Raphael said as he happily shoved more food into his mouth. Ignatz sighed and rolled his eyes as bits of meat got caught in Raphael's beard. Some things would never change, it seemed.

"Raph, dear, you're getting food all over your face." Ignatz said, chuckling as he leaned over to wipe Raphael's beard clean. The larger man blushed as his smaller husband doted on him, and when Ignatz was done and tried to pull away, Raphael instead pulled him onto his lap.

"Thanks, Ig." Raphael said, his honey colored eyes locking onto Ignatz's emerald green ones as his arms wrapped fully around the love of his life, and he gently caressed Ignatz's cheek with the back of his hand.

"Ah, y-your welcome." Ignatz barely managed to squeak out in his flustered state. He recovered quickly though, and he was amazed that Raphael could still turn him into a stuttering mess after all this time. Ignatz giggled and reached up to cup Raphael's face, his fingers setting in the soft hair of his beard. The content sigh that passed between Raphael's lips was cut short when Ignatz kissed him, his hands moving to the wild hair at the back of Raphael's neck as he deepened the kiss.

The feeling of Raphael smiling against his lips made Ignatz's heart swell with delight. He never dreamed that he could be this happy, living the life that he always wanted. He was making a living doing a job that he loved, living in a modest yet comfortable environment, and every morning he woke up in the arms of the man that he loved the most. Something was definitely going right with his life when his reality was so, so much better than his dreams.

Ignatz tilted his head, his nose brushing against Raphael's beard. He giggled as the hairs tickled him, and Raphael pulled away, eyebrows knitted with confusion. Ignatz laughed at how silly he looked, and he cupped Raphael's face and ran his thumbs over his cheeks.

"Sorry, Raph. Your beard was tickling me. Again." Ignatz said. Raphael smiled as he rest his forehead against Ignatz's and let his hands slip around his waist.

"Oops! I guess that means that it's overdue for some trimming." Raphael said, a toothy grin crossing his face as he placed a light kiss on Ignatz's nose.

"Hah, probably. You look even more like a sheep now that you're beard is fully grown out."

"You think so?"

"Indeed." Ignatz nodded, and he pulled away as he ran a hand through Raphael's hair. "I remember when I first likened you to a sheep. You didn't really like it."

"Yeah, I know." Raphael said, reaching up to cup Ignatz's cheek, and the movement knocked Ignatz's glasses slightly askew. "I really like it now, 'cause your eyes always light up when you say it, and the biggest smile always crosses your face."

"O-Oh…" Ignatz said, averting his gaze bashfully as his face flushed a bright red.

"You know, I really lucked out, Ignatz." Raphael said, his voice only a bit louder than a whisper and a tender look in his eyes, "Three years ago I married the cutest, most amazing man that I'd ever met, and we still have a whole lifetime ahead of us! I'm so happy, I think my heart might just burst from my chest or something!" Ignatz was stunned into silence by the sincere words, but he recovered quickly. A bright smile crossed his face as Ignatz wrapped his arms around his husband, his head resting on Raphael's broad chest.

"I feel the same, Raph. I love you."

"I love you too, Ig!" Raphael eagerly hugged Ignatz back, but then he suddenly gasped and pulled away, "Oh yeah! I almost forgot!" He turned to rummaged in his travel pack, while Ignatz watched with a curious eyebrow raised.

"Ah, here we go!" Raphael said as he pulled out a small box that was wrapped haphazardly in paper. "Happy Anniversary! I was too excited to wait until we got back home to give you your present, so I brought it with me!"

"You didn't need to get me anything." Ignatz said as he smiled and took the box. He chuckled at the giddy look on Raphael's face as he watched Ignatz tear the paper away with wide eyes, and Ignatz could practically feel him shaking with excitement.

"Well, do you like it?" Raphael asked, waiting with baited breath as Ignatz examined the gift. It was a small carving made out of wood, roughly the size of his hand. It was him and Raphael, holding hands and looking into each others eyes. The carving was a bit rough around the edges and the anatomy was a little wonky, but Ignatz hardly cared as his eyes welled up with tears.

"Oh Raphael, I love it." Ignatz said, removing his glasses so that he could wipe away his tears of joy.

"Oh, really? Alright!" Raphael said, letting out a triumphant whoop that made Ignatz burst out laughing, "I was really having trouble figuring out what to get you, but Maya thought that I could be good at wood carving, so I thought I'd try it out."

"It really is an amazing first try. I'm impressed." Ignatz said as he put his glasses back on.

"Er, well," Raphael said, averting his gaze as a dusting of pink appeared on his cheeks, "This one is actually the...seventh try. I kept on breaking the wood in half so I had to keep starting over." Ignatz laughed and shook his head.

"Is that so? Well, I'm honored that you would put so much work into a gift for me. I'll treasure it, love." Ignatz said. He then reached over to his own pack and pulled out a neatly wrapped package. "I got you something too."

"Really?!" Raphael exclaimed, his booming voice causing Ignatz to wince slightly. Raphael took the gift and ripped open the wrapping paper, and his face scrunched up in confusion as he held up a book.

"Hmm, a book?" Raphael said, tilting his head curiously as he scanned the cover. Ignatz smiled, and couldn't help but think that his husband looked adorable.

"Yeah, it's a cookbook." Ignatz said, "I know you've been working hard to run the inn, so hard that you've been trying to learn how to cook. I thought this would be a good book to help you get a good start. Plus, this one focuses mostly on meat dishes." Raphael was silent for a moment, and Ignatz was startled when his husband suddenly started sobbing uncontrollably. He pulled Ignatz into a bear hug, arms locking around the smaller man in a tight embrace.

"Ig! I love it!" Raphael said between his blubbering, and Ignatz struggled to wriggle free from the death grip he was in as he struggled to breath.

"Raph...can't...breath…" Ignatz managed to choke out, and Raphael quickly let go of him, allowing Ignatz to cough and take a few deep breaths.

"Ah, sorry…" Raphael said, sniffing as he rubbed his face and composed himself. "I'm just...so happy, Ignatz. You really are the best husband ever!"

"I don't know, I think you've already claimed that title." Ignatz teased, and Raphael's chest rumbled as a hearty chuckle escaped him.

"Aw, Ig. You're too cute sometimes, you know? Actually, forget that! You're too cute all the time!"

"That's so cheesy…"

Laughter filled the air as the loving pair cleaned up their lunch and packed away their gifts. Ignatz frowned, not really wanting this perfect day to end with them back on the road quite yet. When Raphael moved to sling his pack over his shoulder, Ignatz placed a hand on his arm, stopping him.

"Hey, Raph?" Ignatz said, and Raphael gave him a quizzical look. "Would you mind it if we just stayed here for the day and moved on in the morning? I'm...not quite ready to leave this relaxing place."

"Oh yeah! I'm totally okay with that!" Raphael said, nodding enthusiastically as he took Ignatz's hands, fingers gently brushing over the wedding ring on his left hand. "If I had any say in it, I'd spend all of my time just relaxing with you in my arms!"

"I'd definitely do the same." Ignatz said, smiling as he looked up into Raphael's eyes. With that decided, Raphael pulled Ignatz into an intimate embrace as their lips met in a tender kiss. The light wind that blew across the verdant meadow around them cooled their flames of passion, but could never blow strong enough to extinguish the unwavering, unconditional love that they held for each other.


End file.
